The Kings virus falls within the Babuk ransomware family. A harmful program of such sort encrypts all the data on your computer (images, documents, excel tables, music, videos, etc) and appends its extra extension to every file, leaving the RestoreFiles.txt text files in every folder which contains the encrypted files.
Kings virus: what is known so far?
☝️ A scientifically correct denomination for the Kings would be “a Babuk family ransomware-type malicious agent”.
Kings will add its own .kings extension to every file’s name. For example, a file entitled “photo.jpg” will be altered to “photo.jpg.kings”. Likewise, the Excel file named “table.xlsx” will end up as “table.xlsx.kings”, and so forth.
In each folder containing the encrypted files, a RestoreFiles.txt file will be created. It is a ransom money note. Therein you can find information about the ways of contacting the racketeers and some other information. The ransom note most probably contains a description of how to purchase the decryption tool from the tamperers. That is it.
Kings outline:
| Name | Kings Virus |
| Ransomware family1 | Babuk ransomware |
| Extension | .kings |
| Ransomware note | RestoreFiles.txt |
| Detection | Win32/Expiro.NDO, Ransom:MSIL/LokiLocker.MK!MTB, Win32.Virlock.Gen.3 |
| Symptoms | Your files (photos, videos, documents) have a .kings extension and you can’t open them. |
| Fix Tool | See If Your System Has Been Affected by Kings virus |
In the screenshot below, you can see what a directory with files encrypted by the Kings looks like. Each filename has the “.kings” extension appended to it.
That is how encrypted “.kings” files look.
How did Kings ransomware end up on my PC?
There are many possible ways of ransomware infiltration.
Nowadays, there are three most popular methods for evil-doers to have ransomware planted in your system. These are email spam, Trojan infiltration and peer-to-peer file transfer.
If you open your mailbox and see letters that look like familiar notifications from utility services companies, postal agencies like FedEx, Internet providers, and whatnot, but whose addresser is strange to you, be wary of opening those emails. They are very likely to have a harmful file enclosed in them. Therefore, it is even riskier to open any attachments that come with emails like these.
Another thing the hackers might try is a Trojan file model2. A Trojan is an object that gets into your computer disguised as something legal. For example, you download an installer for some program you want or an update for some software. But what is unpacked turns out to be a harmful agent that compromises your data. As the update wizard can have any name and any icon, you’d better be sure that you can trust the resource of the stuff you’re downloading. The best way is to trust the software companies’ official websites.
As for the peer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent or eMule, the threat is that they are even more trust-based than the rest of the Web. You can never guess what you download until you get it. So you’d better be using trustworthy resources. Also, it is a good idea to scan the folder containing the downloaded files with the anti-malware utility as soon as the downloading is finished.
How to remove the Kings virus?
It is crucial to note that besides encrypting your files, the Kings virus will most likely deploy the Azorult Spyware on your PC to seize your credentials to different accounts (including cryptocurrency wallets). The mentioned program can derive your logins and passwords from your browser’s auto-filling data.
Often racketeers would decrypt some of your files so you know that they do have the decryption program. Since Kings virus is a relatively recent ransomware, anti-malware engineers have not yet found a method to reverse its work. However, the decryption instruments are frequently upgraded, so the effective countermeasure may soon arrive.
Understandably, if the tamperers succeed in encoding someone’s critical data, the desperate person will most likely comply with their demands. However, paying a ransom gives no guarantee that you’re getting your files back. It is still risky. After receiving the money, the racketeers may deliver a wrong decryption key to the injured party. There were reports about ransomware developers just vanishing after getting the ransom without even writing back.
The best countermeasure to ransomware is to have aan OS restore point or the copies of your essential files in the cloud disk or at least on an external storage. Surely, that might be not enough. The most crucial thing could be that one you were working upon when it all went down. Nevertheless, it is something. It is also reasonable to scan your PC for viruses with the anti-malware utility after the system restoration.
There are other ransomware products, besides Kings, that work similarly. Examples of those are Zaqi, Qqqw, Maak, and some others. The two major differences between them and the Kings are the ransom amount and the encoding method. The rest is almost identical: files become blocked, their extensions changed, ransom notes are found in every folder containing encrypted files.
Some lucky people were able to decrypt the arrested files with the help of the free tools provided by anti-malware specialists. Sometimes the criminals mistakenly send the decryption key to the victims in the ransom readme. Such an epic fail allows the user to restore the files. But naturally, one should never expect such a chance. Remember, ransomware is a criminals’ instrument to pull the money out of their victims.
How сan I avert ransomware attack?
Kings ransomware doesn’t have a endless power, neither does any similar malware.
You can armour your PC from its injection in several easy steps:
- Never open any letters from unknown mailers with strange addresses, or with content that has likely no connection to something you are expecting (can you win in a lottery without even taking part in it?). If the email subject is more or less something you are expecting, scrutinize all elements of the suspicious email carefully. A fake letter will always have a mistake.
- Avoid using cracked or untrusted programs. Trojan viruses are often distributed as a part of cracked software, most likely under the guise of “patch” which prevents the license check. But untrusted programs are very hard to distinguish from trustworthy software, as trojans sometimes have the functionality you need. Try to find information about this software product on the anti-malware forums, but the best way is not to use such software.
- And finally, to be sure about the safety of the files you downloaded, use GridinSoft Anti-Malware. This software will be a perfect defense for your personal computer.
Reasons why I would recommend GridinSoft3
There is no better way to recognize, remove and prevent ransomware than to use an anti-malware software from GridinSoft4.
Download Removal Tool.
You can download GridinSoft Anti-Malware by clicking the button below:
Run the setup file.
When setup file has finished downloading, double-click on the setup-antimalware-fix.exe file to install GridinSoft Anti-Malware on your PC.
An User Account Control asking you about to allow GridinSoft Anti-Malware to make changes to your device. So, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
Press “Install” button.
Once installed, Anti-Malware will automatically run.
Wait for the Anti-Malware scan to complete.
GridinSoft Anti-Malware will automatically start scanning your computer for Kings infections and other malicious programs. This process can take a 20-30 minutes, so I suggest you periodically check on the status of the scan process.
Click on “Clean Now”.
When the scan has completed, you will see the list of infections that GridinSoft Anti-Malware has detected. To remove them click on the “Clean Now” button in right corner.
FAQ
🤔 How can I open “.kings” files?Can I somehow access “.kings” files?
Unfortunately, no. You need to decipher the “.kings” files first. Then you will be able to open them.
🤔 I really need to decrypt those “.kings” files ASAP. How can I do that?
If the “.kings” files contain some really important information, then you probably have them backed up. Otherwise, you might try to employ System Restore. The only question is whether you have saved any Restore Points that would be helpful now. All other solutions require time.
🤔 You have advised using GridinSoft Anti-Malware to get rid of the Kings virus. Does it mean that all my files, currently encrypted, will be removed too?
No way! Your encrypted files are no threat to your PC.
With the help of GridinSoft Anti-Malware, you can clean your PC off the actual threats. The malware that has attacked your device is must be still active and launching checks from time to time to encode any new files you might create on your computer after the infection. As it has already been said, the Kings malware does not come alone. It installs backdoors and keyloggers that can take your account passwords by trespass and provide malefactors with easy access to your PC after some time.
🤔 What to do if the Kings virus has blocked my computer and I can’t get the activation key.
In such a case, you need to prepare a memory stick with a pre-installed Trojan Killer. Use Safe Mode to perform the procedure. You see, the ransomware starts automatically as the system launches and encodes any new files created or imported into your PC. To stop this process – use Safe Mode, which allows only the vital applications to run automatically. Consider reading our manual on booting Windows in Safe Mode.
🤔 What can I do right now?
Some of the encrypted files can be located elsewhere.
- If you sent or received your critical files through email, you could still download them from your online mailbox.
- You may have shared images or videos with your friends or family members. Just ask them to send those images back to you.
- If you have initially downloaded any of your files from the Internet, you can try downloading them again.
- Your messengers, social networks pages, and cloud disks might have all those files as well.
- It might be that you still have the needed files on your old computer, a notebook, mobile, flash memory, etc.
HINT: You can employ file recovery utilities5 to retrieve your lost information since ransomware encodes the copies of your files, deleting the authentic ones. In the tutorial below, you can learn how to recover your files with PhotoRec, but remember: you won’t be able to do it before you remove the ransomware itself with an antivirus program.
Also, you can contact the following official fraud and scam sites to report this attack:
- In the United States: On Guard Online;
- In Canada: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre;
- In the United Kingdom: Action Fraud;
- In Australia: SCAMwatch;
- In New Zealand: Consumer Affairs Scams;
- In France: Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d’information;
- In Germany: Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik;
- In Ireland: An Garda Síochána;
To report the attack, you can contact local executive boards. For instance, if you live in USA, you can have a talk with FBI Local field office, IC3 or Secret Service.
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Brendan SmithHow to Remove KINGS Ransomware & Recover PC
Name: KINGS Virus
Description: KINGS Virus is a ransomware-type infections. This virus encrypts important personal files (video, photos, documents). The encrypted files can be tracked by a specific .kings extension. So, you can't use them at all.
Operating System: Windows
Application Category: Virus
User Review
( votes)References
- My files are encrypted by ransomware, what should I do now?
- You can read more on Trojans, their use and types in the Trojan-dedicated section of GridinSoft official website.
- GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review from HowToFix site: https://howtofix.guide/gridinsoft-anti-malware/
- More information about GridinSoft products: https://gridinsoft.com/comparison
- Here’s the list of Best Data Recovery Software Of 2023.
